Thursday, December 11, 2008

Isaiah 61 - Changed by Hope

KNU International English Church

Josh Broward

December 14, 2008


"From Now On" video.


Now I know what you're thinking after watching that video: “Oh, no. Josh is preaching another one of those depressing sermons. He's even taking Christmas and making it sad. What's up with that?! Christmas is supposed to be happy!”

Let me tell you from the beginning that we'll get there. We'll get to the joy of Christmas today, but first we need to talk about the pain of waiting in the now, the pain of waiting when things don't go well, the pain of a world that is mixed up and not working right.

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? A little boy named Alexander had one of those days. I want to take a few minutes to read you a story: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.[1]

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there’s gum in my hair. And when I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard, and by mistake, I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running.

And I could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

At breakfast, Anthony found a Corvette Stingray car kit in his breakfast cereal box. And Nick found a junior undercover agent code ring in his breakfast cereal box. But in my breakfast cereal box, all I found was breakfast cereal.

I think I’ll move to Austrailia.

In the carpool Mrs. Gibson let Becky have the seat by the window. Audrey and Elliot got seats by the window too. I said I was being scrunched. I said I was being smushed. I said, “If I don’t get a seat by the window, I’m going to be carsick.” No one even answered.

I could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

At school, Mrs. Dickens liked Paul\’s picture of the sailboat better than my picture of the invisible castle. At singing time, she said I sang too loud. At counting time, she said I left out 16. Who needs 16?

I could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

I could tell because Paul said I wasn’t his best friend any more. He said that Philip Parker was his best friend and that Albert Moya was his next best friend and that I was only his THIRD best friend.

“I hope you sit on a tack,” I said to Paul. “I hope the next time you get a Double-Decker strawberry ice cream cone, the ice cream part falls off the cone part and lands in Australia.”

There were two cupcakes in Philip Parker’s lunch bag, and Albert got a Hershey Bar with Almonds, and Paul’s mother gave him a piece of jelly roll that had little coconut sprinkles on the top. Guess whose mother forgot to put in desert?

It was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

That’s what it was because after school, my mom took us all to the dentist, and Dr. Fields found a cavity just in me. “Come back next week, and I’ll fix it,” said Dr. Fields.

“Next week,” I said, “I’m going to Australia.”

On the way downstairs, the elevator door closed on my foot. And while we were waiting on Mom to go get the car, Anthony made me fall where it was muddy. And then, when I started crying because of the mud, Nick said I was a cry-baby. And while I was punching Nick for saying, “Cry-baby,” my mom came back with the car and scolded me for being muddy and fighting.

“I am having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” I told everybody. No one even answered.

So then, we went to the shoe store to buy some sneakers. Anthony chose white ones with blue stripes. Nick chose red ones with white stripes. I chose blue ones with red stripes, but then the shoe man said, “We’re all sold out.” They made me buy plain ole white ones, but they can’t make me wear them.

When we picked up my Dad at his office, he said I couldn’t play with his copy machine, but I forgot. He also said to watch out for the books on his desk. And I was careful as could be except for my elbow. He also said, don’t fool around with his phone, but I think I called Australia. My Dad said, “Please don’t pick ‘em up anymore.”

It was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

There were lima beans for dinner, and I HATE limas. There was kissing on TV, and I HATE kissing. My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad train pajamas. I HATE my railroad train pajamas.

When I went to bed, Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep, and the Mickey Mouse night light burned out, and I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me.

It has been a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.

Have you ever had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? Have you ever wanted to pack up and move to Australia, or some other far away country? My friend, Belle, says that whenever her son is having a hard time at school, he says he wants to move to Finland. She says, “Yeah, but you would have to learn Finnish!” Eegghh, OK. I guess I'll stay in Korea.”

One of the interesting things about this story is the ending. Alexander's situation doesn't change. He still had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But his mom gives him hope: “Some days are just like that - even in Australia.” But not every day is like that. You'll get through this. Tomorrow will be better. Hope changes everything.

This week I had several terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. I had two bad meetings, and I didn't sleep well for three nights in a row. On Thursday I woke up feeling sad and stressed and worried. On my way to my office, I went to the 7th floor of the Jae 2 Chang Hakwon to pray. I do that sometimes because it's quiet and warm.

Have you ever read a passage of scripture that seemed to be written especially for you especially for that day? Sometimes it seems unreal that something in this Bible which was written thousands of years ago can seem so fresh and perfectly fitted to our current situation. Has that ever happened to you? Well that happened to me on Sunday. The reading in my prayer book for Thursday was Psalm 37. The words seemed to jump off the page for me. Sometimes I felt like crying. Sometimes I felt like laughing. Many times, I was so moved at how this fit my life so directly, I had to stop reading.

Let me read a few parts of it for you.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry … or fret …
11 The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity....

16 It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and rich.
17 For ... the Lord takes care of the godly.

18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
19 They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough. ...

23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand. ...

34 Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land. ...

37 Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace....

39 The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them ...
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.

As I read that psalm, the hope of God began to get into me. Again and again, God said, “Trust in me. Be patient, and I will act. Put your hope in me, and I will help you.” I walked out of that room feeling lighter and freer. I approached my day with new confidence and courage. My situation did not change. I still had all the same problems. But I was changed. Hope changes everything.

Almost ten years ago, Robin Williams starred in a movie called, Jacob the Liar.[2] The movie tells the true story of a man named Jacob Heym, who was a cafe owner in Lodz, Poland. As World War 2 raged, all of the Jews in Lodz were moved into a “ghetto” - a poor, overcrowded part of the city.

Life was pretty hopeless in the ghetto. They had long work days, not enough food, no freedom, and little control over their own lives. Despair quickly took over. People moved through life with a dark cloud of sadness. Many gave up completely, and suicide became more and more common.

One day, Jacob accidentally heard a radio report that Russian forces won a victory and were moving closer to Poland. When Jacob told his friends what he heard, the news spread quickly through the ghetto. If the Russians were winning, and if the Russians were coming, then they might soon be free!

The rumor also spread that Jacob had a secret radio. Jacob decided to go along with the rumors, and he began inventing regular news updates about Russian victories and other signs of hope. Jacob actually began to imitate the radio itself, making the sounds of guns, bombs and even the voice of Winston Churchill.

This “secret radio” and Jacob's “news reports” changed the whole atmosphere of the camp. Hope returned. The people had joy again. They began to act with more love and care for each other. The despair stopped. The suicides stopped. Hope changes everything.

In our text today in Isaiah 61, Israel is in trouble. (It seems like Israel is always in trouble.) The people of Israel have been slowly returning from exile. Instead of finding the happy homes and fertile farms that used to be in Israel, now they find destroyed buildings, empty cities, and overgrown fields. Despair begins to set in.

But then a prophet speaks out and calls for hope. Listen to what he says in Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Almighty God is living in this prophet with one purpose: to announce good news to those who are having a whole lot of very bad days. He is bringing a message of comfort and hope to people who are brokenhearted, stuck, chained in their own history, mourning, covered in ashes, despairing.

What is this good news? The time of God's favor has come. God is turning the world upside down. He is bringing redemption. He is bringing healing. Rebuilding is coming. Renewal is coming. Food is coming. Safety is coming. Love and acceptance are coming. Peace and joy are coming. Abundance and beauty are coming. Don't give up. Rejoice and hope, for God is coming.

God has made an everlasting covenant with his people. God has promised to bless us and to help us. God will never give up on us. God will never abandon us.

And what happens when the prophet begins to tell this good news? He is overwhelmed with joy because of God's promise. Notice that nothing has actually changed yet. The cities are still empty. The buildings are still broken down. The people are still poor. But now, they have hope! They remember God's promise again! And hope changes everything.

Listen to how he describes his joy. “God has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). This is an amazing image. How many of you went to HyunSu and SuJin's wedding yesterday? Think for a few minutes about how they felt when they were getting dressed. They probably felt “overwhelmed with joy.” Nothing had actually changed yet. They were still single. They were still not married, but they trusted each other's promise. They were dressed in their wedding clothes, and they were about to see those promises become a reality. They weren't married yet, but they had an overwhelming hope of the change that was coming soon. Hope changes everything.

And what about us? We always have to talk about that, right? What does this passage have to say to our lives?

Remember the “From Now On” video? Christmas is a joy-filled season, but the joy of the Christmas season is not a joy of complacency or fluffy feelings. It is not the joy of sitting around and eating too much food and giving too many presents. It is not the joy of a day off work or a trip to the movies with friends. It is the joy that God is redeeming the world, turning the world upside down.

Our horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days are not the way life is supposed to be. 1 billion people who live on less than 1,000 won a day have a lot of horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days, and 2 billion people, who have less than 2,000 won a day (or maybe more with these crazy exchange rates!), all have a lot of horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days. And this is not the way the world is supposed to be.

But God is turning the world upside down, quietly, gently, persistently. God is rebuilding, renewing, reworking, replanting, healing, comforting, freeing, unchaining, redeeming us and our world. God has made an everlasting covenant with us. He will never give up on us. He will always love us. He will always be with us. No matter what we are going through, no matter what our world is going through, God is always here working for redemption. This is God's everlasting promise to us.

If we will listen to this good news deeply within our hearts, then we will be changed. This hope changes everything.

And the Spirit of the Almighty God is in us. God has anointed us, commissioned us, sent us to share this amazing good news with the poor, the brokenhearted, those who are stuck in their old ways of life. God has sent us to comfort the mourning, to help people move from despair to joy, from ruins to rebuilding, from emptiness to full fields again.

And how does it happen? Look at verse 11: “The Sovereign LORD will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.” God changes us. He puts his hopeful Holy Spirit in us, and we are transformed. We begin to live differently. We begin to live out his justice and goodness and righteousness.

Many of you remember Julene. She kept talking to me about organic activities in the church, good stuff we don't plan from the top down, good stuff that happens from the bottom up. I left church last Sunday amazed at how God is blessing our church. We are experiencing the organic springing up of righteousness. We are God's garden, and this is our spring. Good stuff is springing up all over the place, and it's hard to keep up sometimes.

- I walked into church a few weeks ago and HaeRi handed me a name tag. I didn't ask her to make name tags. I think she mentioned it to me, but I was as surprised as you were.

- Amanda came to me and said, “I think our information cards can be better. Can I make some changes?” Look in the bulletin to see our new and improved cards!

- Margaret said, “Wouldn't it be great if our church could give gifts to every kid in the Ssang Yong Orphanage?” Then, she gathered a team and made it happen.

- Elena said to me, “Oh yeah, maybe we forgot to tell you. There's a marriage seminar in January.” I said, “Oh! … That's good.”

- Two of our newer people, Emmanuel and SunHwa, came to me at different times and said, “I really want to help start some programs for our youth.” Great!

- Lindsey said, “We need some Advent Readings. Can you help?” I helped the first week, and then she took it over.

- Katrina came to me and said, “I really want to serve God here in this church. I'll do anything – even scrubbing toilets.” She's now helping with our kids, with our bulletins, and with set-up.

- Oh, and Elena's also raising money to build a well for a community that doesn't have clean drinking water. Her goal is to raise $18,000 in one year!

This is organic righteousness! God's goodness, God's justice, God's love and grace are popping up all over the place. God's hope has changed us, and now through us, God's hope is changing our world! This is what Christmas is about!

Hope changes everything. Hope changes us, and as God changes us, God changes everything around us. Hope changes everything. Let's live this hope together!

I want to finish with a prayer from The Book of Common Prayer. I've been praying this prayer several times a week. I think it really fits our message today.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies ,we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts, we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages.

Amen.



[1] This book is available for online reading or listening at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/alexander/.

[2] This movie is based on the book Jakob the Liar by Jurek Becker, 1969. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_the_Liar.

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